Soft foods only, not really ideal for a cyclist.
I reckon I'll be better soon though :)
Oct 29, 2009
Please, sir, can I race?
It is the second Vikings CC Ladies Night, and I really really want to race the crit tonight. But it is not to be, it seems I have some tonsilitis/throat infection- BOO!
Soft foods only, not really ideal for a cyclist.
The warning signs might have been there 2 days ago when a) my resting HR was way up and b) my power outputs were way down, but, you know, I just want to ride my bike!!!
I reckon I'll be better soon though :)
Soft foods only, not really ideal for a cyclist.
I reckon I'll be better soon though :)
Oct 20, 2009
It is only a bad race if you don't learn from what you did wrong
Honda Hybrid Women's Tour
Angelsea/Geelong/Melbourne
15th-17th October
NTID were putting in two teams for this. The NTID team of myself, Bron Ryan, Carly Light, Sarah Roy, Alex Carle and Laura Luxford- a pretty strong team really. The other team was NTID/SASI/QAS with Lisa Jacobs, Zoe Appel, Ange McClure, Louise Kerr, Bec Werner and Carlee Taylor- another really strong team.
Somewhere along the way I left my racing head behind. Perhaps it started with the crazy Geelong driver who tried to take out our bunch pre-race?
In case you can't tell, this is chocolate pudding
Thursday- RR at Angelsea, a ridiculously early start for a 55km bike race.
The course looked like it would suit me well- largely flat with a single moderate rise at the start. We had a neutral 1 km to fit out for position which was followed by a narrow squeeze past a roundabout. This squeeze proved too challenging for some of the ~80 girls and of course there was a crash. I was caught behind this crash. Quick as I could I scrambled over the traffic island and set about chasing the bunch. And that pretty much was the story of the race- I chased and chased and never quite got there. In the end I resigned myself to having a good day in the TT and played it safe through the technical finish in the rain.
Friday- TT Geelong Esplanade and Botanic Gardens, 10.3km.
I liked this course too- a little bit technical, a power climb and flat (with the risk of cross winds off the bay). And after the failure of the day before I was gee'd for a super TT.
Everything was going to plan, the first 4.5km I was time and had good power and then it went downhill. The few spots of rain that I had felt as I rolled out of the start ramp turned into a torrential downpour! Coming in the technical descent from the Botanic Gardens down to the Esplanade, I had no visibility through the rain! Knowing there was a sharp right hander followed quickly by a left at the bottom of the hill I had to start braking early- about half way down the hill! I lost a bit of time there, but figured it was better than dropping myself. And the rain kept getting heavier! Along the Esplanade and the visibility decreased further, though it wasn't helped by the sweat and sunscreen running into my eyes either :S. I am pretty sure the water was as deep as my Token rims- gotta love riding in a river! All in all, despite this, I managed to catch 1.9 girls in front of me (I say 0.9 as I couldn't get passed her in the finish straight!!) and I held my bike up! My time was 1min 23 down off Vicki (stage and overall tour winner), so I can't be too disappointed.
Saturday- Crit, Lygon St, Carlton.
Note to self- neutral actually means get your elbows out and start racing.
I was keen to help the team out today, we had a plan to keep Carly in 3rd on GC and Bron in 4th and to retain our second place on the team classification. But, in true fashion for this tour, things just didn't go to plan. I was complacent in the neutral lap, got caught out, chased and chased, but got nowhere. It was an unforgiving hot dog + a short arm course and if you were in a bad position at any of the 3 u-bolts, you were in trouble and that was pretty much what happened here. I ended up DNFing and feeling pretty demoralised about my performance. But, moving on, I know what went wrong and am pretty sure it is not going to happen again!
On the up side, Carly did get 3rd, Bron was 4th and we held on to our 2nd team classification.
Thanks for reading :)
For some other perspectives of this tour check out:
Lisa Jacobs
Ange McClure
Vicki Whitelaw
Davina Summers
Angelsea/Geelong/Melbourne
15th-17th October
NTID were putting in two teams for this. The NTID team of myself, Bron Ryan, Carly Light, Sarah Roy, Alex Carle and Laura Luxford- a pretty strong team really. The other team was NTID/SASI/QAS with Lisa Jacobs, Zoe Appel, Ange McClure, Louise Kerr, Bec Werner and Carlee Taylor- another really strong team.
Somewhere along the way I left my racing head behind. Perhaps it started with the crazy Geelong driver who tried to take out our bunch pre-race?
In case you can't tell, this is chocolate pudding
The course looked like it would suit me well- largely flat with a single moderate rise at the start. We had a neutral 1 km to fit out for position which was followed by a narrow squeeze past a roundabout. This squeeze proved too challenging for some of the ~80 girls and of course there was a crash. I was caught behind this crash. Quick as I could I scrambled over the traffic island and set about chasing the bunch. And that pretty much was the story of the race- I chased and chased and never quite got there. In the end I resigned myself to having a good day in the TT and played it safe through the technical finish in the rain.
Friday- TT Geelong Esplanade and Botanic Gardens, 10.3km.
I liked this course too- a little bit technical, a power climb and flat (with the risk of cross winds off the bay). And after the failure of the day before I was gee'd for a super TT.
Everything was going to plan, the first 4.5km I was time and had good power and then it went downhill. The few spots of rain that I had felt as I rolled out of the start ramp turned into a torrential downpour! Coming in the technical descent from the Botanic Gardens down to the Esplanade, I had no visibility through the rain! Knowing there was a sharp right hander followed quickly by a left at the bottom of the hill I had to start braking early- about half way down the hill! I lost a bit of time there, but figured it was better than dropping myself. And the rain kept getting heavier! Along the Esplanade and the visibility decreased further, though it wasn't helped by the sweat and sunscreen running into my eyes either :S. I am pretty sure the water was as deep as my Token rims- gotta love riding in a river! All in all, despite this, I managed to catch 1.9 girls in front of me (I say 0.9 as I couldn't get passed her in the finish straight!!) and I held my bike up! My time was 1min 23 down off Vicki (stage and overall tour winner), so I can't be too disappointed.
Saturday- Crit, Lygon St, Carlton.
Note to self- neutral actually means get your elbows out and start racing.
I was keen to help the team out today, we had a plan to keep Carly in 3rd on GC and Bron in 4th and to retain our second place on the team classification. But, in true fashion for this tour, things just didn't go to plan. I was complacent in the neutral lap, got caught out, chased and chased, but got nowhere. It was an unforgiving hot dog + a short arm course and if you were in a bad position at any of the 3 u-bolts, you were in trouble and that was pretty much what happened here. I ended up DNFing and feeling pretty demoralised about my performance. But, moving on, I know what went wrong and am pretty sure it is not going to happen again!
Thanks for reading :)
For some other perspectives of this tour check out:
Lisa Jacobs
Ange McClure
Vicki Whitelaw
Davina Summers
Oct 4, 2009
The sky is crying
There is a cute cartoon to goes with the title of this post at: Pon and Zi.
I know that we are in a drought and all the rest of it, but can the sky please get over it and start behaving in a proper spring like manner!
I am tired of feeling and looking like the Michelin man when I am on the bike. I am also tired of my bike looking like this, and then it being too cold to actually wash it properly!!
I am also tired of digging a trench for the storm water after I have been out riding (in Michelin costume). Please, stop raining already!
The trench is currently about 3m long. Every pipe we pulled out was full of this much root mass!
(The plumber comes next week to sort it all out- stupid drought making the plants forage for water like this!!)
I know that we are in a drought and all the rest of it, but can the sky please get over it and start behaving in a proper spring like manner!
I am tired of feeling and looking like the Michelin man when I am on the bike. I am also tired of my bike looking like this, and then it being too cold to actually wash it properly!!
I am also tired of digging a trench for the storm water after I have been out riding (in Michelin costume). Please, stop raining already!
(The plumber comes next week to sort it all out- stupid drought making the plants forage for water like this!!)
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